The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor electro-optic devices.
The commercial optoelectronic device development of modern silicon carbide and III-V nitride technology has been hampered by three un-met needs. First there is a strong need for a low cost substrate. The prior art employs commercial SiC wafers that cost $1000 each. This cost is ten to twenty times higher than a desired target cost. Second, it is desirable to "link" the substrate to a silicon wafer so that Si electronics can be integrated with optoelectronic SiC and nitride devices. Third, there is a need for multiple quantum well devices; that is, a material platform is required that will allow pseudomorphic growth of the appropriate nitride and carbide layers. A fourth prior-art problem concerns the growth of nitrides on a sapphire substrate. Since it is difficult to cut and cleave the sapphire, the development of a Fabry Perot nitride laser on sapphire is inhibited or prevented. By contrast, this invention provides a "friendly" substrate for nitride lasers, because our. SiCOI substrate unit is easy to cleave.